Several Photos

I made the "cool lunches" Monday, Tuesday, and tonight.  Half the time, I just don't have the energy to look at a computer!  Last night, I simply needed a mani/pedi with my mom, and then after getting home, I just HAD to watch Glee ;-)  So, here are Hailey's lunches from Tuesday, today, and tomorrow, and a lunch of mine and Cailyn's from Tuesday! :)  At least I see they are getting some variety over the course of a few days....doesn't seem that way when I'm packing lunch!

A butterfly soynut butter and jelly sammie, flower cheese hearts, carrots and ranch, flower cucumber slices, cherry vanilla yogurt, strawberries, and grapes.

I'm fortunate Hailey will eat a simple (and healthy!) lunch like this!  Cantaloupe, grapes, mushrooms, grape tomatoes, ranch, cheese, and crackers.

This was my lunch from yesterday - salad (with tomatoes, cheese, and cucumbers), strawberries, and a laughing cow light w/crackers (sea salt and olive oil - omg so yummy!).

Soynut butter and jelly, cheddar slices, salad with a container of ranch, strawberries, and some vanilla mini cookies.

This one was Cailyn's from yesterday: Soynut butter and jelly, diced cheddar cheese, blueberries, applesauce (in the container), and some mini vanilla cookies.

Three Bentos for a Monday!!

I love making Monday lunches. I love that - on Sunday - my refrigerator is full of good healthy, fresh produce.  Heck, I love that my fridge actually has stuff in it!  By Friday, it seems so bare!!  I'm hoping to start sending ore fruits and veggies for myself in the upcoming weeks.  I get those things in there for the girls, so why not myself?  I'm actually quite excited about MY lunch for tomorrow. ;-)

Hailey's lunch: Cream cheese & jelly, cucumber and mushroom (can't say I've ever had a mushroom, myself!!) slices with a container of ranch, cantaloupe, and a few mini vanilla cookies with a sprinkling of M&Ms.  

Cailyn's 1st "toddler room" lunch: Cream cheese & jelly, mini pretzel rods, diced cantaloupe, and diced kiwi.  She has a few extra things thrown in her lunch bag also!

Mommy's lunch: Cheddar cheese, sea salt & olive oil crackers (omg - SO yummy), cucumber slices, carrots, a container of blue cheese, kiwi, and 2 peanut butter & fudge cookies.  Mmmmm!!!!!

A Couple of Bentos from the Week!

This is my crazy time of year - after April vacation until the last day of school.  Concerts, general performances, report cards (before I know it!!), daily classes, and then room clean up.  I feel like the end of June will be here before I know it....and I'm so overwhelmed already!

I still make Hailey's "cool lunches" every day, bu I know I'm a slacker with taking the photos and posting.

Here are a few from this week:

This one has cheese, a mini potato roll, kielbasa, goldfish, grapes, and a small piece of my homemade vanilla mousse cheesecake. :-)

For tomorrow: grilled cheese, grape tomatoes with ranch, goldfish, grapes, and a brownie with vanilla frosting (yum!).

Beautiful Day!!

It was so nice to come home from work to see the sun shining in my town.  Who woulda thought that the temperature would be 15 degrees cooler, and the sky filled with clouds just 25 minutes away from my house.  That said, I was hoping to get a really yummy "spring" lunch to go along with Hailey's "Spring week" at school.  I'm too tired, and still recovering from this past weekend. I had good intentions!

Hailey's lunch for tomorrow: A butterfly-shaped cream cheese and jelly sandwich, grape tomatoes with a turtle pick, flower-shaped cucumbers (and the ever necessary container of ranch - she won't eat the veggies without the ranch!), strawberries, and chocolate pudding with sprinkles.

This was the busiest weekend we have had in quite some time!  Hailey came down with strep throat on Friday. My brother got married in Boston on Saturday (and Hailey was the flower girl - you never would have known she didn't feel well.  She did awesome!!). Paul's grandfather celebrated his 80th birthday today in the form of a HUGE surprise party.  Lots of fun and excitement, but now, everyone is exhausted!!

Needless to say, it pained me to take the girls grocery shopping at 5:00 on a Sunday evening.  I truly contemplated having the two of them buy lunch tomorrow and send for a Peapod delivery. But, we managed, and I made Hailey a decent lunch for school on Monday.

Hailey's lunch for tomorrow:

Ham and cheese on wheat (with a container of mayo), cheez-its, peach yogurt, strawberries and grapes, and some gummy snacks.

Couple Bentos

In this lunch, Hailey had ham and cheese roll-ups, grapes, carrots with ranch, strawberries, popcorn, and a little debbie easter snack cake thingie.  

Hailey's lunch for tomorrow is much less colorful, but I simply can't be bothered.  My DVR is calling my name this evening. ;-)

A heart shaped grilled cheese (looks more like a broken heart though!!!!), grape tomatoes with ranch, cheez-its, cantaloupe, applesauce, and some pez. 

I know I haven't posted in a couple of weeks.  I'm going to have to go through my pictures though, because I know I have some that I must just not have gotten around to.

Lately, Hailey is wanting to help out with cooking meals, preparing her lunch on the weekends, and now be a part of packing her lunch for school.  I'm fine with that!  So, here are Hailey's choices for lunch tomorrow.

Cream cheese and jelly on wheat, grape tomatoes with ranch, cheez-its, blueberry yogurt, cantaloupe, and a mini kitkat.  

I think she did a good job!!! :)

A Bunch o' Lunches!

I take the photos, but I can never get on the computer to update my blog (blame Paul).  Here are some of Hailey's lunches from the past week.

A wheat and cheese palm tree, some goldfish, carrots and ranch, yogurt with blue sprinkles, strawberries, and a few jelly beans.

Peaches, carrots, ranch, cheddar cheese, crackers, grapes, and a cookie.

This was the start of T week at school.  I thought I'd have Hailey search for T things in her lunch. :)

Cheese on wheat (like mommy like daughter!) in triangle shapes - with a little turtle pick to hold it together, cheese-itz, a teddy bear container with mayo, grapes, toy story gummies, and some vanilla pudding with the letter T spelled out.  

I don't think I like daylight savings anymore.  We were all running late this morning, more exhausted than ever. I think schools should have a late opening the Monday after "Spring Ahead" weekend.  It would make for more pleasant children, and more pleasant mommies (well, a more pleasant ME anyways).

Hailey's lunch for tomorrow: a turkey and cheese rollup help together with a heart pick, baby carrots with a container of ranch, grapes, peaches, and some vanilla pudding with pink sprinkles.

So after a fun-filled (sunny!) weekend, I get back to the grind...making lunches, and trying to remember to take a photo.  Too bad we lost an hour of sleep last night.  I have a feeling that one little hour is going to make this next week draaaaaaaaaaag on.  Hopefully Hailey's lunch will brighten her day tomorrow!

Hailey's lunch for tomorrow: Heart shaped cheese sandwiches (with a container of mayo), carrots and a container of ranch, strawberries, vanilla yogurt with sprinkles, and some jelly beans.

Beano

Just kidding!  That is for Angie who can never remember the word Bento. ;-)  I wanted to stick with a "rainbow" type lunch for tomorrow.  The pre-schoolers are having a Pizza Party since they filled their marble jar - I hope Hailey has room for lunch (we were told to pack one anyways!!).

Hailey's lunch for tomorrow:  Cheddar cheese and wheat crackers, applesauce, broccoli, carrots, a container of ranch, strawberries, grapes, and a sugar cookie.

R Week

Hailey is very excited for R week at school, so I thought I'd give her an "R" lunch.  I tried to get a rainbow of color in there!!

A soynut butter and jelly sandwich (cut in a Rectangle) with a cheese R on top, cheese it crackers, grapes, strawberries, carrots, broccoli, and a container of Ranch, and a half of a brownie from the batch she and I made this morning.

One more for this week!

I forgot to post Hailey's lunch from today, so here it is.  Tomorrow is leftover day.

Hailey's lunch: Half a soynut butter and jelly sandwich, grapes, a cheese stick (cut in half), a container of yogurt raisins, strawberry cheesecake yogurt (um, the best yogurt I've even tasted - I'm not a yogurt fan, either!), and some chocolate rice cake minis.

Cookies!

Last day of February, and I've met my goal of finding 20 followers!  I think for March, I'll look for 5 more. :)

Cailyn has mastered a word - cookie.  It was originally cute: every time she would pass through the kitchen, she would say in her cute little angel voice "cookie?".  She was obviously good....we all gave in every.single.time.  Well, then it became funny.  Each time the pantry would open, no matter where she was, her little feet would come running, no longer asking for a cookie, but demanding "Cookie!".  I stopped giving in, but Paul wouldn't.  I found it was becoming a problem when I told her no one day, and she flopped on her belly kicking, banging the floor, and crying while panting the word over and over.  Who would have thought I would have a 15 month old terror!  The final straw came just last week, while in the grocery story, she screamed the word in every aisle we were in.  

I never thought I would have to do the "cry it out" method over a cookie.  The pediatrician's office said it would be a rough couple of days (um, yes, very!), but then the habit would be broken.  Well, it is.  She is perfectly satisfied with a few animal crackers after dinner.  Occasionally, I will catch her looking at me with that coy smile as she walks by the pantry.  Now, when I hear "cookie?" it is followed by a little giggle as she walks away.

Cailyn's lunch for tomorrow: peas and carrots, quartered grapes, chicken nuggets (diced), and mozzarella cheese.  There are a few animal crackers in there, too. ;-)

Hailey's lunch for tomorrow: wheat thins, a cheese stick, goldfish, chicken nuggets (with a turtle pick), a container of ketchup, celery, grapes, vanilla pudding with sprinkles, and some Toy Story gummies.

Last week I tried to use a lot of leftovers.  I didn't want to make lunches, let alone post photos of them.  As a matter of fact, I didn't want to even be in school (it was supposed to be our February vacation, after all!), but now it is a new week.  I'm hopeful it will be a good one!! :)

Hailey's lunch for tomorrow: cream cheese and jelly on whole wheat, pirate's booty, grapes and strawberries, yogurt, yogurt covered raisins, and a container with a few jelly beans

I was SO excited to see jelly beans in the grocery store this weekend.  I may have to hide them from now on though - Paul has already finished the bag!!!

Tonight I took pictures of both girls' lunches for tomorrow.

Cailyn's lunch: halved blueberries, cubes of cheddar cheese, peas and carrots, and smile fries, cut into smaller pieces.  She also has a vanilla pudding cup.

Hailey's lunch is cheese on bread (ahem, I used to LOVE getting this in my lunch!!) with a container of mayo, cheez-its, blueberries and strawberries, yogurt, and a fruit roll-up.

Non February Vacation Lunch

This week was supposed to be February Vacation week.  After all of the snow days, we had President's Day off, but need to go to school/work the remainder of the week.  Oh well.  I can't complain after all the days off last month!!  I figured I'll give Hailey a palm tree to pretend that she is someplace warm. :)

Hailey's lunch for tomorrow: A cream cheese and jelly palm tree, baby swiss Cheez Its, vanilla yogurt with green sprinkles, chocolate rice cake minis, strawberries and blueberries, and a small packet of Pez as a treat.

There MUST be an easier way to upload a picture from Facebook.  I have my "bento" folder.  Well, FB has messed with how pictures are displayed, and now it is taking me too long to be able to update my blog.  Any ideas on how to make the photo uploading process easier (I'm using my droid and sending to FB)?

Anyways, things are well for all of us.  It is weird to lose our February break next week, but I don't mind too much.  I'm certainly looking forward to a three day weekend!!!

Hailey's lunch for tomorrow: half a soynut butter and jelly sandwich, grape tomatoes with a container of ranch, blueberries, pirate's booty, applesauce, and a mini 3 musketeers.

Valentine's Day - a little early.....

Hailey has been a bit sad this week, and having a hard time with going to bed because "mommy is leaving."  I tried to explain to her that I will always be in her heart.  I figured I would give her some extra hearts tomorrow.

She has two heart shaped grilled cheese sandwiches, grape tomatoes (forgot the ranch again!!! darn!!!), chocolate rice cake minis, pirate's booty, mixed berry yogurt, and a hershey mini candy.

Breaking out the Love

Since Valentine's Day is sneaking right up on me (ummm, hello? I feel like January never existed this year!!!!), I figured I'd start introducing hearts, pink, red, cupid, etc. now.  Hailey loves Valentine's Day, so I hope she enjoys.

Hailey's lunch: two mini cheese sandwiches (heart shaped), some grape tomatoes (oops!!! I just realized I forgot ranch....I wonder if she will eat them anyways??), parmesan flavored goldfish, a fruit roll-up, mandarin oranges (in honor of "o" week at school) with a little heart pick,  and vanilla yogurt with pink sprinkles.